Alex and Ani charity program gets award

ALEX AND ANI employees also have volunteered nearly 1,200 hours to non-profit organizations nationwide, not including Charity By Design staff. The company aims to have its more than 1,500 employees engaged in community volunteer work by 2016.

PROVIDENCE – Alex and Ani’s Charity by Design philanthropic program has won a Silver Cause Marketing Halo Award at the 12th annual Cause Marketing Forum Conference in Chicago.

The award was made in the Best Business Model Integration category. The Charity By Design philanthropic program was one of 18 to be honored on May 29 after being judged “the best at doing well by doing good” in 2013, according to Cause Marketing Forum President David Hessekiel.

Hessekiel said campaigns like this one “have risen to the top because of their authenticity, effectiveness in communicating a cause message and ability to generate social and financial dividends.”

In related news, the program also has made $1.2 million in donations to the American Heart Association since its partnership began in 2012.

Based in the city, Alex and Ani LLC offers “eco-conscious, positive energy” products created by Designer Carolyn Rafaelian, also the company’s founder, creative director and CEO.

Formed in 2011, Charity By Design works with nonprofits to reach their fund-raising goals by sharing creative design work. Since its formation, more than $11 million has been given back to more than 15,000 organizations either by selling customized symbolic charm expandable wire bangles, holding “Charmed by Charity” events at Alex and Ani retail locations, or making donations of, on average, 200 products each month to nonprofits.

Alex and Ani employees also have volunteered nearly 1,200 hours to non-profit organizations nationwide, not including Charity By Design staff. The company aims to have its more than 1,500 employees engaged in community volunteer work by 2016.

“Our mission is to support nonprofit organizations committed to the environment, community and wellness, so that the positive energy created by their good works will foster a better living community for all of us,” said Nicki Maher, vice president of Alex and Ani’s Charity by Design. “Charity by Design helps foster meaningful conversations among Alex and Ani customers about the issues they care deeply about while at the same time allowing them to make a philanthropic statement based on their choice of jewelry.”

The Cause Marketing Halo Awards constitute North America’s highest honor in the field of cause marketing. The Cause Marketing Forum, a company dedicated to providing business and non-profit executives with the practical information and connections they need to succeed, bestowed the honors. For more information, visit www.causemarketingforum.com/halo2014.

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